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Most Recent: Reviews
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe Review: Grab Some Coins, Race to the Store, and Buy it Again
Aside from a rather shoddy Battle Mode, Mario Kart 8 set the gold standard for Nintendo’s venerable franchise when it launched for the Wii U back in 2014. The racing game was already bursting at the seams with characters, courses, and customizable kart parts before the consolemaker expanded it with two DLC Packs and added crossover characters like Link and Animal Crossing‘s Villager. However, the public’s poor reception to the Wii U lead to the sad realization that three times as many people had purchased Mario Kart Wii versus its sequel. So Nintendo has decided to re-introduce the game to a new audience on the Switch as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe… and with a real Battle Mode, too! (more…)
Posted in Reviews, Switch, Top Story
Tagged Mario Kart 8
Mr. Shifty Review: Not Ready to Shift Into the Spotlight
Mr. Shifty is a top-down brawler from Team Shifty, a new development studio out of Brisbane, Australia. As Mr. Shifty, you are able to shift/teleport your way through walls and bullets, taking down your enemies at lightning speed while trying to break into the world’s most secure facility. There are 18 levels to shift your way across, all with varying difficulty. New enemies help keep the gameplay fresh and exciting, but the replayability of the title is lacking a bit.
So, you’re a teleporting thief who has embarked on his biggest heist yet. What could possibly go wrong? Well, if you are Mr. Shifty, the answer to that is everything. (more…)
Posted in PC, Reviews, Switch, Top Story
Tagged Mr. Shifty
/Reality Review: A Fresh Take On A Controversial Genre
Interactive novels tend to get a bad reputation, but it’s understandable. Because video games are such a young medium, there still remains some confusion surrounding the definition of what exactly a “video game” is. /Reality is not one of those games that further muddies the waters by barely walking the lines of interactivity. No, /Reality is, by far, one of the most “interactive” interactive novels that I’ve ever played.
/Reality centers around a socially withdrawn young woman in her early 20s named Lilya. Lilya, a virtual reality enthusiast, is selected to beta test the Penta, a state of the art virtual reality neural device. What looks to be an exciting weekend spent traversing through the Penta’s Vitalia simulation quickly turns in to something far more complex that forces Lilya to question her own perception of reality. (more…)
Flinthook Review: Retro Platforming and a Space Pirate With a Grappling Hook… What More Do You Need?
Have you ever wanted a game that was roguelite and also had RPG elements? What about a game where you’re a pirate with an anchor you use as a grappling hook? And did you also want it to have gorgeous retro art, a hyper-catchy and upbeat soundtrack, and maybe a little slime guy for a compass that you feed coins to?
Is this too specific a dream? Is this exactly the game you wanted? Because if it is, I have really amazing news for you… Flinthook is here, and it’s going to make all of your dreams come true. (more…)
Blaster Master Zero Review: Tanks for the Memories
The Nintendo Entertainment System was my first foray into real gaming. Granted, I played a lot of Atari and Intellivision back when I was a young ‘un, but the NES was a huge part of my childhood, and helped shape me into the gamer that I am today.
As a young hardcore gamer (did that term exist back in the day?), one of the things I loved doing was signing up for video game magazines. At Doc Lewis’s behest, I joined the Nintendo Fun Club. When I would get my allowance, I would head over to the local Woolworth and pick up the newest GamePro magazine. And yes, I was a subscriber to the short-lived Sunsoft Game Time News. I loved reading about their newest games, learning tips and tricks, and bugging my mom for $5.00 to order that Xenophobe T-shirt (I never did get it, though). One of the games that always piqued my interest in the Sunsoft newsletter was Blaster Master. It looked like a fun game, with lots of action and adventure.
Unfortunately, my only experience with the title was renting it once at the local movie rental shop. While it was a somewhat fun experience, I was pretty much lost and didn’t know what to do. I also never played it again, because I was knee deep in Mega Man, The Legend of Zelda, and Dragon Warrior. But I always regretted that decision, because Blaster Master has a reputation as one of the great games from the NES era. Well, fate as smiled upon me, as now I am able to play a new Blaster Master… and I don’t even have to hook up my old system! (more…)
Posted in 3DS, Reviews, Switch, Top Story
Tagged Blaster Master Zero
Graceful Explosion Machine Review: Colorful Arcade Shooter Pops On Nintendo’s Switch
When your brand new console launches with a single marquee game, you need to do something in the ensuing weeks and months to hold the interest of all those early adopters. Most Nintendo Switch owners (approximately 89%, according to GameStop) are busy exploring every corner of Hyrule in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but the consolemaker’s “Nindies” program has also given the eShop a boost in these early days thanks to exclusive and semi-exclusive software like Snipperclips, FAST RMX, Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment, and Blaster Master Zero.
Available today, Vertex Pop’s Graceful Explosion Machine is the latest title to join this steady stream of smaller Switch launches. (more…)
Posted in Reviews, Switch, Top Story
Tagged Graceful Explosion Machine
Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment Review: Death Takes Over in a Perfect Prequel
Yacht Club Games has built a strong reputation over the years for their ability to deconstruct, modernize, and regenerate the side-scrolling platformer. Using Ducktales and Mega Man as a template, the original Shovel Knight was a game that honored the past, while only being able to exist in the present. Meanwhile, its first expansion, Plague of Shadows, brought back the gadget platformer in a unique adventure that felt more like a true sequel than an add-on.
The developer must have had the same thought, as Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment is the first game in the franchise’s rapidly-growing expanded universe to be available as a standalone game as well as a free expansion. Widening their playing field has also lead Yacht Club to tackle the cinematic storytelling and swordplay found in the NES era’s ninja platformers, best exemplified by Ninja Gaiden. (more…)
Double Dragon IV Review: Still Cyclone Kicking After All These Years
It’s 2017… How do you review a game like Double Dragon IV?
Designed by Arc System Works as a direct sequel to Double Dragon II: The Revenge (the events of the third game chronologically take place after the first), Double Dragon IV recreates the franchise’s NES-era look down to the last pixel. Even after playing it, if you had told me that Technos (the original developer behind the series) found an unfinished Double Dragon sequel from 1991 and released it last month as a brand new game, I would have believed you. But in a way, that’s exactly what they did.
Though it was only announced in December 2016, Arc System Works recruited a good portion of the original Technos team to help bring their vision for Double Dragon IV to life. Director Yoshihisa Kishimoto, Producer Takaomi Kaneko, Character Designer Koji Ogata, Programmer Kei Oyama, and Composer Kazunaka Yamane all signed on to help bring the sequel to life.
But is it a good game in these early months of 2017? Umm… (more…)
Posted in PC, PS4, Reviews, Top Story
Tagged Double Dragon IV